Dark Elf Cavalry
|upkeep_cost = |num_figures = |moves = |melee = |ranged = ( ) |defense = |resist = |hits = |abilities = Ranged Attack x4 First Strike }} Dark Elf Cavalry are a type of Normal Unit that can be recruited in Dark Elf Towns containing at least a Barracks and a Stables. Cavalry are the basic mounted units in the game. Their higher speed allows them to perform quick strikes against infantry lines, flank them, or bypass them to attack the rear of an enemy army. However, Dark Elf Cavalry are not very well armored, and need to keep the initiative if they want to survive in battle. While they may also be able to injure weaker opponents with their Ranged Attacks, this is generally much less effective. Dark Elf Cavalry have a Construction Cost of , and require an Upkeep Cost of and to maintain. Failure to pay these costs will result in the unit being disbanded automatically. Unit Properties Physical Description Dark Elf Cavalry are a group of slender humanoids with violet-colored skin and white hair, riding on the backs of powerful black steeds. They wear brown leather clothes and fight with swords from horseback. Dark Elves are inherently magical beings, and can channel magical energy into a destructive force on a whim. They are also incredibly resistant to magic and other ill effects. Dark Elf Cavalry are a , containing up to mounted soldiers. Attack Properties Dark Elf Cavalry possess a Melee Strength of which has an average "raw" output of per Cavalryman. This is fairly decent against lighter armor, although it may not be enough to consistently hurt well-protected opponents. It does get better with however, both in strength and accuracy. At the level, the maximum normally attainable, each Cavalryman will inflict twice this much - points of "raw" , on average. Normally, Melee Damage between two combatants is resolved simultaneously, but like many other mounted units, Dark Elf Cavalry have the First Strike trait, representing their ability to charge or trample their opponents before they could fight back. It triggers whenever the unit performs a voluntary Melee Attack during its own turn, and results in enemy slain by the attack not being able to retaliate against the Dark Elf Cavalry. In other words, the more the Cavalrymen do with an attack they initiate, the less they will take from the Counter Attack. First Strike does not work when the Cavalrymen are on the receiving end of a Melee Attack however. There are also a handful of infantry units with reach weapons that possess a counter ability called Negate First Strike, which nullifies this effect entirely when engaging them. Characteristic to their Race, Dark Elf Cavalry can also wield magic to perform Ranged Attacks four times per battle. However, these only have an initial strength of , resulting in an average output of . In other words, there is only a 30% chance for each Cavalryman to inflict any on the opponent with this attack, which may then possibly be negated by a Defense Roll. Therefore, these are highly unlikely to get through any armor at all, although at least they suffer no penalties for range, meaning that the unit can shoot at targets over any distance with the same efficiency. The magic of Dark Elf Cavalry is considered to come from the Realm, and this is what their Ranged Attacks are associated with. As such, they will trigger the conditional modifiers granted by the , , and spells, and are much less effective against targets bearing these Unit Enchantments. While they are not considered to be direct , and are not nullified outright by Magic Immunity or , the effects' will nonetheless make any opponent possessing them virtually impossible to hurt with these attacks. It's also worth noting that due the way the game decides which Attack Type will be used against an adjacent target, Dark Elf Cavalry will generally not be able to shoot at any enemy they are standing next to. This is because to do so, their strength would need to be higher than half of their , rounded down. Given the disparity between their initial attribute values, this will almost never be the case with Dark Elf Cavalry in practice. This can also trigger a serious flaw in the mechanics. As long as they have any shots left to fire, the presence of a Ranged Attack allows Dark Elf Cavalry to target units. However, if that target is adjacent, the actual attack performed against it will always be a melee one unless the above condition is met. Unfortunatey, this will be prevented from causing any to the opponent, since as a unit, Dark Elf Cavalry are technically not supposed to be able to initiate such an attack in the first place. As a result, the target will never be harmed, yet the Cavalry will take the full force of its Counter Attack. Defensive Properties Dark Elf Cavalry are lightly armored, possessing a Defense score of . They can deflect about points from Conventional Damage attacks, on average. Unfortunately, this is rarely enough to avoid anything but the weakest attacks. On the other hand, they do have per rider, and if they can keep the initiative and attack only on their own terms, Dark Elf Cavalry may be able to minimize the Melee Damage they take by virtue of their First Strike ability. They also possess a remarkably high Resistance score for their tier - with , they have a fair chance of avoiding Unit Curses and combat maledictions. All three of these statistics improve with as well. Other Properties Dark Elf Cavalry are faster than most infantry units with their Movement Allowance of , and may use this to their advantage to maximize the effectiveness of their First Strike. However, the unit otherwise has no special movement properties, and can only traverse land tiles on the overland map. Basic Strategy Although more expensive to train than the more common foot soldiers, Dark Elf Cavalry also offer some advantages compared to them. Overland, they are the earliest-, and one of only two non-ship units available to this Race that can move more than one tile per turn without magical assistance. This makes them a fairly good Normal Unit for scouting and quick response, which can be important early in the campaign because Dark Elves don't have Engineers, and thus can not build Roads of their own unless they either subjugate a Race that can recruit Engineers, or get an opportunity to hire some as Mercenaries. Dark Elf Cavalry are quite expensive though, and may ultimatey not warrant their Upkeep Cost for either of these purposes. In battle, their faster movement allows Dark Elf Cavalry to not only utilize their First Strike more easily, but also to reach the enemy more quickly, and possibly get around their front lines to attack any weaker units in the rear instead. On the other hand, like all mounted units, Dark Elf Cavalry don't have as many as infantry units do. Although more powerful, they execute a lower number of attacks with each command given to them, which makes enhancement effects and somewhat less effective, since they grant less of an overall benefit. Each that a Dark Elf Cavalry unit loses also has a higher impact on their total output. However, while they don't wear better , Cavalrymen do have more than most foot soldiers, so they don't go down that easily. Regardless, pressing the attack is vital for their survival, since their First Strike will not trigger when they are being attacked by an enemy, which generally means that they will take much more in this case. Normally, this makes Cavalry somewhat less useful in situations where they need to remain stationery, such as when defending a walled City or protecting a line of Ranged Attack units from close combat opponents. It also puts them at a disadvantage when facing enemies, as voluntary Melee Attacks against these are not possible for units without short-range attacks. Of course, Dark Elf Cavalry can partially overcome some of these shortcomings by virtue of possessing Ranged Magical Attacks of their own. While much weaker than their hand-to-hand ones, they at least provide an opportunity to possibly do some while waiting for an enemy to approach, especially if the Dark Elf Cavalry have already gained some . On the other hand, these attacks are often not worth wasting time with when on the offense, unless the opponent only has close combat units and no Conventional Damage spells. Otherwise, the risk of losing Cavalrymen, and consequently Melee Damage potential and survivability, will simply be too great compared to the that the Ranged Attacks can actually do. Ability Overview Ranged Attack x4 * This unit may use a instead of a Melee Attack up to 4 times in each battle. Once the unit's ammo is expended, it must resort to Melee Attacks. First Strike * Whenever this unit makes a voluntary Melee Attack against an enemy target, it delivers its Melee Damage before the target does, as opposed to resolving it at the same time. Therefore, defending slain by this do not get to retaliate at the unit. * This ability does not work when the unit is Counter Attacking against an enemy assailant. Experience Table The following table illustrates how Dark Elf Cavalry improve with Experience. Any properties that are not listed here are not affected by in any way. * To achieve this level, either the Warlord Retort or the spell must be in play. ** To achieve this level, both Warlord and must be in play simultaneously. Average Damage Output The table below details the average amount of "raw" that each in a Dark Elf Cavalry unit will deliver with each type of attack, based on . It can be used in comparison to the target's Defense rating to approximate the chance of hurting that target. Acquisition Dark Elf Cavalry may be recruited in Dark Elf Towns that have both a Barracks and a Stables already built, and have a Construction Cost of . They may also appear as Mercenaries, provided that the player has a presence on Myrror. In this case, they cost between to to hire per unit, based on their - or half that much for Charismatic Wizards. Category:Units Category:Normal Units Category:Dark Elves Category:Cavalry